Nazi eugenics leave mark at SU museum

The things committed by Adolf Hitler and his Nazi following remain firmly rooted in history and have inspired discourse among Stellenbosch University (SU) students.

The Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race exhibition aims not only to refresh what time has dulled, but to demonstrate the relevance of the events that occurred in Germany decades ago to the students of SU today. Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race is a traveling exhibition hosted in the SU Museum from 4 April to 28 May 2018.

It is presented by the South African Holocaust and Genocide Foundation and is produced by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, where a permanent exhibition of the same name has resided since 2004. By means of photos, Nazi propaganda videos and harrowing survivor accounts, the exhibition traces Nazi eugenics back to its roots. The viewer is guided from the dawn of the “science of race” to its very practical heights at the hands of Adolf Hitler.

From one set of imagery to the next, the exhibition treats topics like the forced sterilisation of the mentally and physically disabled, the so called “euthanasia” programme and the wellknown Jewish genocide with extreme care, all the while imprinting vivid pockets of compact information on the minds of viewers. At the back of the room used for the exhibition; almost hidden behind harrowing images of emaciated children – the victims of the “euthanasia” programme – stands a small glass-case exhibition.

In the case are two containers with a life-like array of glass eyes and a collection of synthetic hair strands. Dr Handri Walters, a postdoctorate fellow at SU and researcher for the abovementioned South-African component of the exhibition, said that “in a corner office of the Stellenbosch University museum the director removed an unassuming cardboard box and, one by one, started to unpack its contents on the table in front of me.

“An old film reel and maps; a bruised and battered tin with Rudolf Martin’s name printed on the lid that, when opened, revealed 16 glass eyes ranging in colour; another tin inscribed with Eugen Fischer’s name that held 30 different shades and textures of synthetic hair threads.”

Eugen Fischer was one of Germany’s leading anthropologists who was opposed to interracial unions. According to Walters, these instruments were acquired by the Zoology department at SU in 1915 as part of a recently introduced Anthropology course.

“At the Zoology Department of Stellenbosch University these objects were employed to measure an array of human beings between 1925 and 1950 under the guidance of physical anthropologists respectively trained in Berlin and Zurich,” she wrote. “The results these studies rendered, with the support of the objects, acted in service of racial categorisation.”

“Today,” said Walters, “these objects are displayed to inspire critical reflection on the part of their viewers. As individual objects and as a collection, the display illustrates both the arbitrary nature of racial categorisation, as well as the absurdity and danger of ideologically informed science.”

About the relevance of the exhibition to the students of SU, Prof. Steven Robins from the Sociology and Social Anthropology Department and writer of Letters of Stone, from Nazi Germany to South Africa, said: “My view is that there is much for South Africans, and students in particular, to learn from eugenics in Nazi Germany and elsewhere in the world. “‘Eugenics’ was a global science in the early decades of the twentieth century and it led to disastrous consequences in the 1930s and early 1940s in Europe.

“In Letters of Stone, I highlight the significance of eugenics in relation to its influence on South African racethinking during apartheid.” The Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race exhibition will be hosted by the SU Museum until 28 May 2018.

Photo: Leanne Swanepoel

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GVB Protest Opinions

Paballo Thabethe

“I feel so strongly this. Because I personally come from a background where my mom was abused, all of this triggers a lot of emotions. I feel so strongly about this topic, and about asking Stellenbosch to stand up, because Stellenbosch was usually a university that barricaded such issues. I feel like the fact that we are out here, speaking about it, is a step in the right direction.”

Leo Figueira

“For me, it was very apparent that there were not a lot of men, and specifically white men, at this rally. That is the main thing that, as a white man, stood out for me. The lack of concern on the faces of the management was also very clear. The general anger, fear, frustration and anxiety was very apparent, and I think it came out in a way that it needed to come out. This will hopefully resonate with the rest of the community.”

Elode Duvenhage

“I feel like the management, at times, was not listening or engaging. There was no understanding. In a way I do understand that it is horrible to be screamed at by students and then having to respond, but just trying to show a little more sympathy would have been nicer. Another question is: how come they are only listening to us now? This started years ago, and these issues shouldn’t be dealt with now, on the last day of the third term. Also, and many people brought this up, this is a situation where students must choose between human rights or marks. It is not fair to place that on students who want both.”

Kaiser Aryee

“I was initially playing devil’s advocate, because I thought that this is an educational institution, and if there is no major obstruction, we should continue as normal. But as I got here and the officials addressed us, I felt that there was a sense of apathy – I don’t think they are on the ground enough with students, and that is what they get paid for. I can’t play devil’s advocate as much as I previously could. Our officials can definitely do more for us. We need more engagement with students. I am sick of emails – it is the most impersonal way to address people. I feel like, as a leader, you should be able to use your critical thinking skills, which you should have if you are in that position, to think up solutions – you can’t just go in circles when people are dissatisfied.”

Mieke Verster

“Administratively, the students are more prepared than the management. This is not right, because obviously it is our jobs at university to study, to learn and gain knowledge, and it is theirs to look after us. And I can understand the frustration of students – but of course, it is also frustrating when the crowd starts to talk in circles. I think we need to channel that energy into finding solutions – not because it is our job as students, but because, clearly it is not happening.”

Anon.

“I feel like the management should have supported us more – like, for example, by organising transport to protests. I also think that residence heads should have been here today. I feel like they are making it a you-problem. They could also have given better options for people missing assessments to go to the protests. I am from the biggest female residence, and I can tell you now that only a small fraction of us are present today.”